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BUSM professor wins 2010 Van Slyke Award for seminal contributions to laboratory medicine

Michael F. Holick, PhD, MD, a professor at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM), is the recipient of the 2010 Van Slyke Award from the American Academy for Clinical Chemistry New York Metro Section.

14 Dec 2010

FOXA1 gene controls oestrogen-fuelled growth of breast cancer cells

CANCER RESEARCH UK scientists have discovered that a single gene controls the oestrogen-fuelled growth of breast cancer cells, according to research published in Nature Genetics on Sunday.

14 Dec 2010

EU, India talks end with resolution on drug seizures, little progress on free trade agreement

"The European Union and India resolved a dispute over generic drugs on Friday which should remove obstacles to Indian drugs manufacturers exporting products to the developing world, officials said," Reuters reports in an article that describes the customs regulations previously in place that led "to numerous seizures of generic drugs shipments in transit from India to countries in South America via Europe."

14 Dec 2010

New osteoporosis drug appears to reduce bone loss in mice with oral cancer

A drug currently approved for osteoporosis treatment has been shown to reduce bone loss in a study of mice with oral cancer, suggesting it could serve as an important supplemental therapy in patients with head and neck cancers that erode bone.

14 Dec 2010

State roundup: New Dem Gov. and Minn. Medicaid; Fla. docs on Medicaid changes; Iowa Gov. eyes long-term care loopholes; Conn. provider rates

Over the past decade, programs that integrate Medicaid and Medicare have resulted in improved consumer satisfaction, better health outcomes and lower Medicaid costs in Arizona, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Wisconsin and Washington. In each case, states have had to change their Medicaid rules by attaining a waiver from the federal government (Vestal, 12/13).

13 Dec 2010

Research: Kidney disease caused by autoimmune disease lupus may be twice as lethal in children

Kidney disease caused by the autoimmune disease lupus may be twice as lethal in children as kidney disease caused by other disorders, according to research led by Johns Hopkins Children's Center investigators.

13 Dec 2010

Soda taxes – would they do any good?

According to new research from Duke-National University of Singapore (NUS) Graduate Medical School imposing higher taxes on sodas and other sweetened drinks would lead to only minimal weight loss among most people and would have no effect on weight among consumers in the highest and lowest income groups.

13 Dec 2010

Alzheimer’s research update

Alzheimer’s disease researchers have been working for a while with a small, sticky protein fragment, beta amyloid, that clumps into balls in the brains of patients with this degenerative neurological disease. It is a normal protein that is present in every normal brain but in Alzheimer’s it starts to accumulate into these balls or plaques. On buildup of amyloid symptoms of the disease appear.

13 Dec 2010

Fat or obese – What’s in a name?

The question of whether the term ‘fat’ is more appropriate than ‘obese’ was raised in an Australian study that confirmed the former is the “lesser of two evils”. The study from University of NSW study which looked at public perceptions surrounding these words has found that, while both are unwelcome, obese was viewed more negatively.

13 Dec 2010

Intercell to stop further development of Travelers' Diarrhea Vaccine Patch

Intercell AG announced today preliminary clinical results on its investigational Travelers' Diarrhea (TD) Vaccine Patch program and the decision not to pursue further the development of this vaccine candidate. The decision was made following the receipt of results of its randomized and placebo-controlled Phase III study (ELT301) with 2036 travelers from Europe to Mexico and Guatemala as well as the pilot efficacy Phase II trial (ELT209) with 723 travelers from Europe to India.

13 Dec 2010

Consumers, employers and insurers work to incorporate reform's new rules

Big employers and insurers continue to brace for health reform's changes and new rules. In other news, CalPERS gives the new health law positive early reviews while other reports focus on how reform could impact Medicare coverage.

13 Dec 2010

iMDsoft, Mindray enter new distribution agreement

iMDsoft®, a leader in hospital-wide clinical information systems, and Mindray, a leading global provider of medical devices, have today announced a new distribution agreement. Under the agreement, Mindray will sell only clinical information systems by iMDsoft, and will be the sole distributor of MetaVision® in China. Mindray will also distribute iMDsoft's MetaVision® Suite solutions in 10 countries in Europe, Africa, and Asia.

From Mindray 13 Dec 2010

Federal judge poised to issue ruling in Virginia health law challenge

A Virginia federal court judge is expected today to issue a much-awaited ruling on whether the new health law violates the Constitution. Meanwhile, legal arguments are scheduled to take place Thursday in a Florida courtroom regarding a separate challenge to the health overhaul.

13 Dec 2010

Survey: Health savings accounts pick up steam but remain a small part of health insurance market

A new survey finds that health reimbursements and health savings accounts are picking up steam but still remain a small piece of the national insurance market. Meanwhile, leaders in the Texas health insurance and delivery system agree that paying for value in health care, rather than volume, is key. Finally, maternity insurance continues to be a challenge for some consumers.

13 Dec 2010

Mass. confronts high health costs

Massachusetts, four years into its own version of health reform, is now taking on the issue of spiraling health costs by attempting to change the health care payment system.

13 Dec 2010

1099 repeal foiled again, Politico reports

News outlets report on a number of Capitol Hill developments, including the latest failed attempt to repeal the 1099 reporting provision of the health overhaul.

13 Dec 2010

Reuters: Supreme Court to decide generic drug labeling issue

The Supreme Court said on Friday that it would decide whether generic drug companies could be sued under state law over allegations they failed to provide adequate label warnings about potential side effects (Vicini, 12/11).

13 Dec 2010

OpEds: Ryan on 'welfare state'; Wisconsin health care; Facing AIDS; Penn. safety net

Government health programs can help fulfill the mission of health security, but the current structures of Medicare, Medicaid - and now Obamacare - rely on a faulty architecture that puts the federal government in charge on health care decision-making.

13 Dec 2010

Elsevier announces special Issue on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

Elsevier Inc., the world's leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information, announced today that Alcohol has published a special year-end double issue on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). It fills an urgent need to bring the widest possible readership current perspectives on using new research methods to improve identification and diagnosis of offspring at risk for FASD and its associated brain damage and behavioral dysfunction.

13 Dec 2010

Nuance announces availability of Dragon Medical Mobile Recorder on iTunes App Store

Nuance Communications, Inc. today announced the availability of Dragon Medical Mobile Recorder on the iTunes App Store, expanding its healthcare suite of speech solutions for smartphones and building upon the recent success of Dragon Medical Mobile Search. With Dragon Medical Mobile Recorder, Nuance is introducing a new level of clinical documentation flexibility by enabling mobile point-of-care dictation that is connected to speech-enabled transcription platforms, eScription and Dictaphone Enterprise Speech System, and the fully-outsourced Nuance Transcription Services offering.

13 Dec 2010